Safely escorting Princess Tamahime back to the capital of the Land of Bear, they encountered no ninja attacks along the way, and the black-clothed ninja targeting Akakage vanished without a trace, as if mysteriously disappearing.

In a separate small room, Akakage changed into clean clothes. Although his face was pale, he could walk with no hindrance.

"It's the first time I've seen you so badly injured."

Chunyu appeared in Akakage's room for a private conversation.

"I didn't expect the enemy's target to be me, the guard. I was too careless."

Akakage admitted his mistake.

No matter the reason at the time, failing to uncover the enemy's plot immediately was his incompetence.

"Any clues?"

It was unlikely Akakage was targeted without reason. Compared to the Daimyo of the Land of Bear and Princess Tamahime, he appeared insignificant as a guard.

Yet the enemy exploited exactly this kind of obvious attitude, leading to Akakage's mistake.

"Jonin Akahoshi from Hidden Star Village."

Akakage spoke a name.

"I've heard of him. I didn't expect such a formidable ninja in Hidden Star Village. Next, I'll have someone keep an eye on him and won't give him a second chance."

Chunyu nodded and turned to leave the room but suddenly paused at the doorway. He said to Akakage:

"The mansion's servants say Princess Tamahime seems fatigued due to anemia. Looks like you owe her a huge favor."

Akakage fell silent, his inner turmoil apparent.

As a ninja, being saved by someone he always considered a frail woman was quite humiliating. Yet he hadn't anticipated Princess Tamahime's decisive action and courage.

A careless mistake could have caused him to bleed to death.

She truly was a princess with a troubled mind.

"I won't say much else. You must balance this within yourself. I won't disturb your rest any further. Farewell."

After saying this, Chunyu vanished from the room.

◎

At this moment, Akahoshi, back in Hidden Star Village, wore a stormy expression.

Although he'd succeeded in forcing Akakage, a threat, into Hell Valley, under normal circumstances, such injuries combined with a burdensome princess meant they couldn't survive long in Hell Valley.

After all, food and water would be issues.

In Hell Valley, there was no food or water to be found.

So, theoretically, those two should have died of hunger and thirst in Hell Valley.

But if they somehow survived, he'd have significant trouble ahead.

He didn't believe his identity could remain perfectly hidden.

To force Akakage into dire straits, he'd used the Mysterious Peacock Method, a secret technique only Hidden Star Village ninja could employ, exposing his identity as a Hidden Star Village ninja.

Furthermore, such a high-level Mysterious Peacock Method could only be performed by a Jonin from Hidden Star Village.

Having encountered Akakage before, the other party could easily guess his identity.

Being targeted by a genius ninja with a Kekkeigenkai was quite troublesome.

Especially considering the irreconcilable hatred between them.

Thinking of this, Akahoshi couldn't help but reveal a hint of anger.

"Damn Daimyo, if only he'd given me control over Hidden Star Village, I wouldn't have to take such risks!"

Thinking of the Daimyo of the Land of Bear's perpetually sly, smiling expression made Akahoshi furious.

He never considered his actions wrong; if there was a fault, it was his insufficient strength to directly kill the ninja named Akakage.

He was both a collaborator with the Daimyo of the Land of Bear and a severely guarded subject.

As a local ninja from Hidden Star Village, he was far inferior to an elite ninja like Akakage, who was the perfect tool.

Thus, by eliminating Akakage, the Daimyo would have to rely on him to control Hidden Star Village.

This was the source of Akahoshi's frustration.

Not having seen the bodies of Akakage and Princess Tamahime left him uneasy.

Akahoshi felt unsettled after returning to Hidden Star Village.

It wasn't that he didn't want to continue searching Hell Valley for Akakage's trace, but he had been away from Hidden Star Village too long and had to return now, or he'd arouse the Third Hoshikage's suspicion. If that happened, he could end up with nothing.

Now, it seemed he'd have to wait until Akakage came to Hidden Star Village to find a way to deal with him.

He definitely didn't want someone dictating over him.

Quietly returning to the village without alerting anyone, Akahoshi arrived at his home's doorstep.

It seemed Yotaka and Shiso did well; several days passed without the Third Hoshikage growing suspicious.

Having rushed back overnight to Hidden Star Village without sleep, Akahoshi decided to rest before planning his next move.

Thinking of this, Akahoshi used the key to open the door. As he stepped inside, he sensed something amiss in the atmosphere.

A man sat calmly in the chair, waiting for him to enter.

Akahoshi's face changed, instinctively retreating to maintain a safe distance.

However, at the moment he moved back and looked up, his gaze briefly met the man's.

The man's eyes were an extraordinary, splendid red, each containing three mysterious magatamas.